Acer announced the Chromebook Tab 10 – the first Chrome OS tablet

by Mihail Nikolov / Mar 27, 2018, 8:29 AM

Acer announced the Chromebook Tab 10 – the first Chrome OS tablet

Chrome OS is one of the two operating systems (you may have heard about the other one – Android) developed by Google. The system features an interface, based on the Chrome web browser, making it perfect for web applications. Chrome OS made its debut back in 2011 on Chromebook laptops, launched by Samsung and Acer, and has been laptop-exclusive since then, but it seems like it will finally make its debut in tablet land. Ladies and gents, Acer presents to you the first Chrome OS tablet – the Chromebook Tab 10.

The Chromebook Tab 10 has a 9.7" display with a 2,048 by 1,536 resolution, making it one of the tablets with a bigger screen on the market. The Tab 10 has a 5 MP rear and 2 MP front-facing cameras – yeah, we should not expect the best images, but then again, tablets have never excelled at taking pictures. Deep-sea blue has been the color of choice for the Tab 10, although there might be more colors to come in the future.

A good tablet needs some good hardware and Acer knows it. The Tab 10 has a shiny OP1 processor – a hexa-core System-on-a-Chip (SoC) developed by Google-owned Rockchip. This chipset is also found in the Samsung Chromebook Plus, so we can expect nothing but good performance. Storage wise, 32 GB + a micro SD card slot will probably do the trick. There's also 4 GB of RAM onboard, so you can multitask freely. USB type-C and a 34 Wh battery promise up to nine hours of use before recharging. The Tab 10 has stylus support and even comes with one from graphic-tablet maker Wacom.

Acer's announcement of the Tab 10 is most likely connected to another event, hosted by Apple. Today, the Cupertino company will hold an event, labeled "Let's take a field trip" at the Lane Tech College Prep High School in Chicago. The invitation for the event reads "Join us to hear new creative ideas for teachers and students,", which suggests it will be education-oriented.

Currently, schools in the US are mostly using Chromebook-based laptops for their educational purposes, but Apple's expected announcement of a cheaper iPad will most likely try to capitalize on the school market. Acer's announcement of the Tab 10 is essentially throwing down the glove at Apple and only time will tell which company will prevail.

The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 will be available next month in North America, with a global release expected in May. Priced at $329, it is definitely on the expensive side, considering most Chromebooks are under $300, but it's the first Chrome OS tablet and you know innovations are expensive.

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source: Acer via The Verge

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10 Comments

1. sgodsell

Posts: 6592; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Chrome OS is easier to setup and maintain for schools, period. This is where iPads fall down. Plus now that Chrome OS supports Android apps as well. Chromebooks or in this case Chrome tablets will literally have access to millions of Android apps as well.

posted on Mar 27, 2018, 8:40 AM 2

3. sgodsell

Even if Apple comes out with with a cheaper tablet. I doubt it will compete with something like this tablet. Especially since this Chrome tablet comes with a pen stylus and Wacom support. If Apples table is cheaper, then Apple's pen is $100 more on top. Unless Apple includes a free pencil as well. But I don't see Apple doing anything like that.

posted on Mar 27, 2018, 9:14 AM 2

5. AronWunarso

Posts: 239; Member since: Feb 21, 2016

Apple is greedy. You need to pay $99 for the freaking pen and not battery free.

posted on Mar 27, 2018, 9:35 AM 0

2. hurrycanger

Posts: 1746; Member since: Dec 01, 2013

lol is that the freakin S pen? Anyways, this seems great. Less than $350 and you get a tablet with 4gb ram, 32gb storage an active pen. For that price I can almost get a new open box Tab S3, but I assume this one has an IPS screen and for someone constantly writing on the tablet (5-12 hours a day), I'm kinda afraid of having burn in on the Tab S3. Also, how is chromebook battery life? My Galaxy Tab A 10.1 lets me take notes continuously for 15-16 hours screen on. (This tab is awesome btw, and darn cheap, but it only has 16gb storage option)

posted on Mar 27, 2018, 9:12 AM 0

4. sgodsell

Battery life is excellent on most Chromebooks. This tablet comes with 32 GB of storage, but it's also expandable via micro SD.

posted on Mar 27, 2018, 9:19 AM 0

6. Crispin_Gatieza

Posts: 3040; Member since: Jan 23, 2014

Chromebooks have come a long way and their battery life is incredible. I have 2 Acers at home and they're excellent. That being said, a Chromebook is too dependent on the internet so a tablet without LTE connectivity seems like a waste to me. My Acers fold into tablet form and tent mode but I'm at home with Wi-Fi so I'm not sure how this will work for those on the go.

posted on Mar 27, 2018, 11:03 AM 1

7. sgodsell

Lots of apps run standalone. Including working on documents or spreadsheets can be worked on or view without being connected to the Internet. Not to mention there is a few graphics editing apps that don't require you to be connected to the Internet. I guess it depends on the apps you are using.